Slender
by MuseBerry
Summary: He, The Great Skull, had been plagued by vicious nightmares for the past week. It had started on Monday when one of his many associates emailed him a game with a single sentence written, 'You will never be the same again.' And he wasn't. [Yes, it's the Slender game!]


**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfics. ;)**

* * *

_He trudged through the darkness as the moonlight streamed through the gnarled branches of the looming trees that stretched high above him. He had no memory of how he got there. All he knew was that he needed to get far, far away from here. There was this feeling niggling in the back of his mind. It told him to be alert, and his body was rigid from the tension in his bones. Yes, he was definitely going to keep his guard up. Who knew what was lurking in the darkness around him._

_He clutched the flashlight in his hand tighter at the thought of the surrounding shadows. He would have used the flashlight, but a stray thought brushed him. Flashlights ran on batteries, and batteries eventually ran out. The simple logic of that thought was what kept him from turning it on and illuminating the ominous forest. Of course, he still clung to the childish notion that wandering in the darkness hid him and the monsters he couldn't see. It was both comforting and terrifying at the same time._

_The only sounds in the forest were the crunching of his footsteps on the dead leaves scattered across the ground. A breeze ruffled his hair and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. A prickling feeling of unease engulfed him, and he knew instantly what it was trying to tell him. He was being followed, and his life was at stake. Not daring a glance behind him, he ran further into the trees as whatever was following him gave chase. He pumped his legs faster as the sound of static crackled in the air. The radio in his pocket was reacting to his stalker violently as the electronic screeched into the night. Minutes later everything was quiet, and the radio was mute once again._

_He finally deemed himself safe after he put a large distance between himself and the creature that was hunting him. He flicked on the flashlight in his hand and pointed it in front of him. The light quickly cut through the darkness like a knife through butter, and he fought a wave of panic that threatened to overcome him. There was a note tacked onto a deteriorating wall with dull paint that showed how old it was._

_The writing on it was messy and it appeared that whoever wrote it had been rushed. He walked towards it cautiously, and his pale hand trembled as he ripped the paper off the cracked surface. He stared at the yellow note with dread quickly rising in his gut, a suffocating pressure. The words were chilling and for the first time that night he felt pure unadulterated horror coursing through his veins._

_'Don't look...or it takes you!'_

_Suddenly, the other strips of paper in his pocket felt like thick stones. He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out the other seven notes that instilled terror in his heart. Carefully, as if the papers themselves were the monster, he smoothed them into a stack from the order they were found. The first one was crumbled from being crushed after his first encounter with the creature in the woods._

_It was a drawing of the monster._

_He shuffled to the next note._

_'No no no no no no' was written hastily and another picture was looking back at him._

_He went to the one after that one. The third note almost cost him his life when he ran into the creature once again. He barely made it out alive, but not without sustaining several long scratches from sharp branches striking him all over his body as he fled._

_'Can't run.' The paper whispered eerily._

_'Follows.' Said another with an arrow and another drawing._

_'Always watches.' screeched one along with 'No eyes.'_

_'Leave me alone.' one mumbled hopelessly._

_'Help me.' It cried tearfully._

_And finally, the one he had just found. _

_'Don't look...or it takes you!" It dripped with desperation, black and vile as it slid off the paper in small droplets._

_He felt an inkling of paranoia breach his mind as the trees around him turned into snarling skeletal creatures with twisted claws and ragged clothing that barely hid their grotesque bodies. The silence was no longer tranquil and soft, but a smothering and oppressive blanket that encased the natural sounds of the forest. The shadows taunted him cruelly with their dark shapes, teasing him and making him see things that weren't there._

_The radio in his pocket wailed and he whirled around to see a pale figure in a black suit that looked as stiff as the thing wearing it. He wanted to turn around and bolt, but his legs were as heavy as lead. He clenched his hands tightly and his knuckles were white with the strain. He willed his legs to move into action, but neither of them obeyed him. The monster came closer and closer, and when it was within arms reach, tendrils of darkness whipped out from behind it and shot towards him with malicious intent. _

_He squeezed his eyes shut and, with his heart pounding in his ears, let out a bloodcurdling scream._

* * *

"Wake up!"

Skull toppled off his bed and yelped when his head smacked against the floor with a loud thud. He laid there in a sleep induced haze until he remembered where he was. Rubbing his throbbing head in a futile attempt at soothing the pain, he looked up to a pair of pitch black eyes that he hadn't seen in a week.

"Reborn!" He squawked. "What the hell was that for!?" He shouted angrily as the hitman's eyes narrowed under his signature fedora.

"You were screaming." The dark-haired man said simply.

Skull's mouth formed an 'o' shape and the words tumbling out of his mouth died before being released into the air. "O-oh." He stuttered as the other Arcobaleno member stared at him with an unreadable expression. Skull felt a shiver run down his spine.

"What was it about, moron?"

Skull winced at the piercing look that the hitman was giving him. Should he tell the other man about his dream? No, his instincts shrieked at him. If he even told the taller male about his dream he'd definitely tease him about it and maybe even beat him up for having a ridiculous fear of something that wasn't even real. Nope. He was not going to tell Reborn anything about it, so he had to go with the best fake dream that could justify his obviously manly yell.

"...I broke my motorcycle."

Reborn rolled his eyes at him, and Skull inhaled in relief as the other accepted the lie. "You're a such brat, lackey."

The hitman kicked him in the stomach swiftly before turning on his heel and walking out of the room. The door slammed shut behind him with an audible crash. Skull grinned in victory before flinching as his head continued to pulse painfully. "Damn it all," he moaned miserably, "I don't know how much more this I can take..."

He, The Great Skull, had been plagued by vicious nightmares for the past week. It had started on Monday when one of his many associates emailed him a game with a single sentence written, 'You will never be the same again.'

And he wasn't.

He found himself bored and lonely on that fateful Monday when he received the email responsible for this disaster. The normally lively house was abandoned with everyone out on various missions. Even Luce, who didn't really enjoy going on missions, was absent from the large abode. Seeing as he had no work at the moment, Skull decided to give the game a go. Maybe it would cure his boredom and keep him occupied until one of the others returned. As soon as he downloaded the game, a wave of trepidation had washed over him. It made him feel strangely nervous and he almost chickened out of playing. It took him a while, but he managed to man up long enough to double-click the icon and begin the game.

He regretted it.

Skull was quickly sucked into the world of Slender just like millions of others before him. At first, the game was confusing and pointless. It wasn't until after he collected a freaky note that a strange man appeared, it was curiosity that killed him the first time. Instead of making the character run away, he had observed the creature with wide and intrigued eyes. The thing was oddly tall, unnaturally thin, and wore an impeccable black suit that resembled the one a certain trigger happy person he knew wore.

The most interesting thing about it was its face, or rather, lack of face. The static that hummed in his headphones had escalated to the point where it was the only sound he could hear. The noise interrupted his musing and the screen flashed black and stayed that way. Worried for the well-being of his computer, he leaned forwards to examine it and nearly had a heart attacked as the monster's face appeared on the screen.

He stared at his computer for what felt like ages before playing again. And again. And again. Skull played until Fon came home, which was nearly six hours and deep into the night after he had received the email. He had only left his room for food, water, and the bathroom. By the time he forced himself away from the game, the damage had already been done.

But that was just Monday, the rest of the week had been a living hell for him. He tossed and turned all night, but couldn't ever drift off to dreamland peacefully. He didn't sleep until he passed out, and when he woke up he couldn't recall losing consciousness. But passing out wasn't the only type of sleep he received, other times consisted of him falling asleep early and waking up constantly throughout the night. It didn't matter which way he fell asleep though, because each time had him waking up in cold sweat from a vicious nightmare.

No matter what he did, Skull couldn't escape the dream cycle that went exactly the same way every time. He'd have amnesia, wander through the woods alone at night, find horrible messages, and inevitably die when the dream came to an end. Every dream, every freaking one, felt so real, and he would believe he actually died when his eyes opened to the darkness of his room. While it had only been a week, this problem was beginning to take a toil on Skull physically and emotionally. Especially since he had cut himself off from the rest of the Arcobalenos in an effort to preserve his dignity.

His eyes were accented by dark bags, he hadn't put on his makeup or piercings, and his hair was so messy it could be considered a crime. All in all, Skull looked like a zombie or a teenage girl who just got rejected by the boy she had crushed on since elementary school. He still maintained a healthy weight, but it was obvious that he hadn't been working out lately by his lethargic attitude. Emotionally, Skull was a wreck. His paranoia was so strong that he feared he was becoming one of those weirdos who thought everyone was conspiring against them. His small fear of the fictional supernatural entity had evolved to the point of nearly extreme phobia, and he would nearly collapse into hysterics every time he considered the possibility of it existing. Maybe it was lurking out in the trees that surrounded the house right now as he spoke...

Yep. That game had definitely ruined his life.

But Skull marched through it, he was determined to get over his fear. He had spent enough time wallowing in his paranoia and filth. It was about time he exited his self-induced isolation. Yawning, Skull stretched him arms high above his head and smiled when he realized that his headache had disappeared. A plus side of having an awesomely high pain tolerance.

He rose and hurried to the bathroom where he showered, brushed his teeth, and took care of his morning make up and accessory routine. When he saw his face afterward, he couldn't help the curving of his lips into a smile. Skull almost looked normal. Almost. He just needed to some rest to get those hideous bags off his face. He looked himself in the eyes. "It's not real." He told himself seriously. His reflection's amethyst orbs were firm and didn't waver when he said the next line."That game is scary as fuck, but that's all it is. A game."

He ran a hand through his purple locks before sighing. It was now or never, and Skull preferred that Reborn and the others didn't kill him for skipping again. Who knew when they'd run out of patience and drag him out of his room? He left the bathroom and walked to the stairs. As he moved, he noticed that all the rooms were somberly silent. Judging by the noise in the first floor, everyone was already gathered around for breakfast. He descended and everything around him suddenly quieted. He paused on his way down and looked at the rest of the Arcobaleno sitting at the table. Even Reborn and Colonello, who usually argued loudly in morning due to 'I-just-woke-up' grumpiness, were mute.

Skull fidgeted under the intense stares being thrown his way and squared his shoulders. He couldn't run back to his room, no matter how much he wanted to. He was going to bump into the others at some point, they shared a house together after all, and it was better to just get it over with. He coughed lowly before meeting their eyes head on with a steady gaze. "Good morning, guys."

Then everything exploded into sound.

"You brat, kora! Where have you been!?" Colonello shouted while making wild hand gestures that expressed his heated frustration. It was obvious the blond wasn't happy with his disappearance.

"Lackey." Reborn growled. The hitman didn't have to do anything. Just one look gave Skull that impression that the other man was very annoyed with him. And if it wasn't the look, it was the dark murderous aura that hung around him like a cloud.

"Oh, were you sick Skull? Are you feeling alright? Do you need to go to the doctor? You know you can tell me anything, honey." Luce said anxiously with concerned eyes. It always warmed Skull's heart to have someone who cared about his health. Hell, his parents never did.

"It's quite rude to be holed up in your room. Next time let us know when you want to be left alone." Fon said neutrally as he sipped his tea, but Skull knew better. Worry was evident on the Chinese man's expression, even if he was scolding him for being impolite. Fon was indirect like that.

"If you do that again, I swear I will beat the crap out of you and then make you train until you pass out!" Lal raged with a furious flush on her skin. Skull would have taken a couple of steps back at the crazy look on the blue haired woman's face, but wisely stayed put. Who knows what she would do if he moved, even if he could tell she was relieved, he didn't want to risk anything.

Verde and Viper were the only ones who didn't react. Verde's reason was easy to identify. The scientist could care less about their youngest member. After all, he treated everyone with the same cold indifference and superiority. Viper never mingled with anyone in their group, and did not react any differently when he wasn't there. Skull didn't mind Viper's apathy towards him, but Verde's always made him want to punch the other man in the face violently.

Skull grinned at his dysfunctional family before plopping himself onto his chair between Reborn and Colonello. "Sorry everyone. I got caught up in this thing, and it took me awhile to shake it off. But I'm totally better now!" He held up two thumbs up and winked at their shocked faces. He guessed they hadn't been expecting him to be so perky after emerging from his solitude looking like a scrawny rat.

Reborn was the first to recover as expected. "Whatever, lackey." The man said harshly with a venomous bite in his tone. "I expect you to buy me an espresso for your trouble."

Skull took the nickname in grateful stride. Luce handed him a plate of pancakes, and he wasted no time in digging into the fluffy deliciousness. After eating several mouthfuls of syrupy goodness, he stopped and watched the others around him curiously. "What are you guys staring at? Is there something on my face?" Underneath the table, he began jiggling his leg nervously.

Luce was the one to respond to him with warm and worried eyes. "Skull, you were in your room for a week. You have never done that before. We thought something was wrong."

He swallowed thickly and tried to clear his throat. "Oh, that." Skull muttered. "I'm not sure if you guys really wanna know. It's a pretty dumb thing. I still can't believe I reacted like that." Oh shit. He was so screwed. There was no way he could avoid the conversation now that he admitted he had a problem. Maybe he should have jumped out his window and went for his motorcycle...

"Of course we wanna know, kora." Colonello snorted. The blue-eyed male crossed his arms, and gave him a furious glare.

Skull rubbed the back of his neck. "Okay then. It all started on Monday when I got this game from one of my workers. I was super bored so I decided to play it. If I had known the consequences of playing it, I would have deleted the game in an instant."

"What consequences?" Verde said, surprising everyone. The scientist pushed up his glasses with a scowl. "Don't look at me like that. I just want to know what the idiot got himself into."

Skull laughed at that before gulping down his cup of orange juice. Here goes nothing. "I have Slenderphobia!" He shouted before looking at the table in embarrassment as his cheeks reddened.

"Slender...phobia?" Lal repeated in confusion.

Skull nodded and sunk further into his chair in shame. "It's exactly what it sounds like."

Luce blinked. "So you're scared of thin people?"

"Yeah...Wait, no! That's not it!" Skull protested as he blushed harder. Oh man, this was so awkward. Why did he decide to tell everyone? He was so stupid...

"If you want us to understand, lackey, explain it correctly." Reborn barked at him and the ever present fedora made the hitman's features even more menacing. Skull squeaked in fear as the other man loomed over him threateningly.

"Okay, okay! When I say Slenderphobia, I mean I'm scared of Slender Man. There, I said it..."

Everyone was silent, and then Colonello's eyebrow twitched. "Who's Slender Man, kora?"

Skull groaned and face palmed. "In the game, you wake up alone and the objective is to collect eight pages with disturbing messages that are scattered throughout the area. While you search for the pages, you are hunted by an ominous entity known as the Slender Man. I played it and now I can't stop getting nightmares about it."

Verde's interest was piqued. "And what usually occurs in your nightmares?"

Skull scratched his head. "I wake up alone at night in a forest with a serious case of amnesia. One time I woke up during the day, but it was misty instead of dark. And in some ways, the fog was worse than the darkness. In the fog, you never know what's standing next to you until it's too late." His eyes glazed over as he recalled Tuesday's dream. He shook off the memory and focused on Verde again. "Then I wander around until I find a page. Then the dream can either go two ways. Slender Man finds me after the first page and kills me, or I escape to collect more and he kills me then. I have never collected all eight until last night."

Verde nodded at this and narrowed his eyes in concentration. "I believe that you may not be as 'Slenderphobic' as you believe. Some people have different fears, and if combined, those fears can overwhelm them. The case may be that you simply fear losing yourself, isolation, obscurity, and death. This game just happened to have some elements of your fears and amplified the possibility of experiencing nightmares of that type."

Skull's eyebrows furrowed. "I...I think you're right. I am scared of those things. I may cheat Death all the time, but that doesn't keep me from worrying about what happens if I don't." His face lit up. "I knew I wasn't scared of some stupid game!"

"I'm always right." The green haired scientist snorted and pushed up his glasses again. his ego stroked for the day.

"Is that why you look so tired?" Luce asked him with wide eyes. "You probably haven't rested at all! No wonder you have those terrible panda eyes."

Skull smiled at her happily. "Don't worry, Lu! Now that I know what's wrong with me, I'm one hundred percent sure I'll be able to sleep tonight."

Luce gently smiled back at him, and Skull beamed brightly. He was so glad Verde rationalized his fears. He could finally focus on his life and not a creepy humanoid thing that stalks people in the woods. Skull finished his plate up in record time and picked up his dirty dishes with the intent to clean them in the sink. He thanked Luce for the wonderful breakfast and hurried to pick up after himself.

He washed his plate and cup hurriedly. He had so much lost time to make up for! All his work probably piled up and he most likely had stacks upon stacks of paperwork to go through. He rubbed his temples as a headache threatened to bloom on the side of his head. Skull shut his eyes and sighed. He really didn't want to start working yet...

"Hey lackey," a smooth voice said behind him, "we're going to go buy my espresso now."

Skull jumped at Reborn's sudden appearance behind him and he huffed. "Why now? Can't I just sleep?" He looked up at those black eyes pleadingly and an emotion flashed across the other man's face. The change of expression was so fast, Skull wasn't even able to see what emotion had shifted.

"We're. Going. Now." The hitman grounded out impatiently before grabbing Skull's arm and dragging him towards to door.

"W-wait! I still have stuff to do! Let goooo!"

They disappeared out the door, leaving behind the rest of the Arcobaleno who were thoroughly amused by Skull's loud protests that could be heard from outside.

* * *

Skull woke up to a scene that rendered him speechless. He was in the middle of an Arcobaleno cuddle pile. Reborn was the one he noticed first. The hitman was spooning him from behind, and one of his arms were slung casually around his waist. Warm air puffed at the back of his neck as the fedora wearing man breathed rhythmically. He blushed scarlet when he realized just how close the other man was to him.

Colonello was facing him with fluttering eyelids that signaled the blond was dreaming. Skull noted that the blue-eyed male's fingers were also twitching. Absentmindedly, he wondered if the other was dreaming about shooting people. Nah. That was probably something Reborn would be dreaming of.

Luce and Lal were beside each other curled up on the pillows against the headboard, no doubt they wanted to sleep with someone of their gender. Skull couldn't blame them. Lal wouldn't be able to sleep around Colonello without starting some sort of fight, and Reborn was completely and reasonably out of the question. Luce was also rather easy to embarrass, and she felt uncomfortable sleeping with a boy.

Fon was further down the bed between Colonello and Skull. His face pressed against the mattress, and Skull wondered if the Chinese man could accidentally suffocate to death sleeping like that. Deciding that Fon wouldn't, Skull racked his brain for any memories of how...this happened. Then it hit him like a sack of bricks.

After he and Reborn got the espresso, they wandered around town until the sun had set. Reborn had wanted to explore the night life, but Skull had wanted to go home and sleep. Reborn must have sensed his exhaustion and relented reluctantly. They had went home where Skull proceeded to throw himself onto his large bed and was out cold as soon as his head touched the pillow. He guessed the others had joined him one at a time. Judging by their arrangements, Reborn had came first and Colonello second. Fon probably squeezed himself there and took third place while Lal and Luce most likely appeared last and thus got the left over area.

Viper and Verde weren't there, and Skull was fine with that. He didn't frankly care. He knew neither of them would show up, and he was secretly glad they didn't. It would've been really awkward if it was Verde spooning him and Viper laying next to him. It wasn't that either male was unattractive or anything. They just weren't the people he wanted to snuggle with. Not that Reborn and Colonello were his first choices. He'd rather be in between Luce and Lal than Colonello and Reborn. While Lal did beat him up, she didn't bully him as much as the blond and the sadistic hitman.

"It's too early," Reborn murmured drowsily behind him, "go to sleep, lackey."

Skull smiled and did just that. It wasn't until after the Arcobaleno Cuddle Pile incident that he realized it was the first time he had slept closely to his companions. It was the first time that Lal, Colonello, and Reborn showed genuine concern for his person. And in the comforting warmth of his fellow Arcobalenos, it was the first time he truly felt safe in a long time.

* * *

**Hello readers! I stumbled across this fic while I was cleaning out my flashdrive and reminiscing over all the stories I've written (good and bad, and when I say bad, I mean absolutely ****_horrid)_. So Slenderman, huh? How odd. I vaguely remember typing this up _ages_ ****and** _**ages **_**ago. And there's a group cuddle at the end! Yay for comforting Arcobalenos! **

**Somehow, even though there is no set pairings in this fic, I can sense some traces of Reborn/Skull. Gah. Even in non-romance stories some yaoi (slash) always slips in...****Whelp. I got work to do. Summer assignments, sleeping, playing xbox, and ****working on my KakaIru story (that pairing is just too cute!). **

**My apologies for any and all mistakes in grammar or spelling. Ciaossu, everybody, I hoped you enjoyed this one-shot! :D**


End file.
